Research focused on enhancing the care and readiness of service members and their families again led the way in this year’s poster competition, held annually during May by the Department of Research Programs (DRP) at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“The annual research competitions remind us that Walter Reed is an academic medical center. To promote and maintain readiness, we have to treat patients, teach and train our military health care personnel, and perform research to meet the health challenges of service members and their families, which often has benefits and applications for civilian health care as well. Our namesake Maj. Walter Reed was a soldier, clinician, teacher, and researcher. Clinical research and investigation are in our DNA ,” stated retired U.S. Army Col. (Dr.) Clifton Yu, Deputy Director for Education, Training, and Research at Walter Reed.

Posters entered in the competition fell within the categories of patient- and family-centered care, case reports, performance and quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and laboratory, and clinical research.

Patient- and family-centered care “puts patients and their families at the heart of medicine,” explained Rachel Jenkins, DRP’s education program specialist. She added that evidence-based practice “translates research to the bedside.” Performance and quality improvement “boosts the caliber of care and teamwork,” and case report “points the way toward new paths in medicine,” she stated.

U.S. Air Force Capt. (Dr.) Kiffin Smallegan’s poster titled “Redesigning ICU Rounds to Improve Collaboration at a Military Hospital,” was one the first-place winner in the evidence-based practice category. His team focused on how implementing strategies to enhance communication among health care teams in the ICU can result in improved decision-making among providers and better outcomes for patients.

U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Daniel Hammond’s project, “Dia-beating Care Transitions: A Process Improvement Project for Preparation for Transition to Adult Care,” earned first place in the performance and quality improvement category for research focused on enhancing the experience and preparation of young patients with diabetes as they transition to adult care.

In the patient- and family-centered care category, U.S. Air Force Capt. (Dr.) Sidney Zven earned first place for research into “Empowering Action: Using an education video to combat military food insecurity.”

Other first-place winners included: U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Melissa Meister’s “Hospitalization Characteristics of Battlefield-Related Penetrating and Closed Cranial Injuries Compared to Non-Cranial Injuries”; U.S. Army Capt. (Dr.) Akshat Parekh’s “Hounsfield Units as a Screening Tool for Osteoporotic Femoral Neck Fractures – A Biomechanical Evaluation”; U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Sara Drayer’s “Quantitative Proteomics of Silva Patterns and the Tumor Microenvironment in Cervical Adenocarcinomas”; Meister’s “Quantitative pupillometry to predict return to play in mild traumatic brain injuring in U.S. Military Cadets ”; and U.S. Army Maj. Charles Kang’s “Eat More to Know More: A Symptom-Based Elimination Diet for Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis.”

A panel of judges that includes physicians, researchers, and other professionals in various medical and science fields evaluated and selected the winners in each category, considering such factors as innovation, practicality, and potential impact on the field .